Malaysia Airlines resumes checked baggage on Europe routes

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia Airlines resumed normal check-in baggage allowances on all its flights on Wednesday after banning it temporarily due to strong head winds on the longer routes it was taking for safety reasons.

The airline said it has recently had to operate a longer route to Europe, which combined with strong head winds, limited the airlines’ ability to carry baggage and cargo.

The airline did not elaborate on the safety reasons behind its new flight paths to Europe but one of its airliners was shot down over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine in 2014 with the loss of all 298 people on board.

It banned checked-in baggage on flights to Amsterdam and Paris operated by its Boeing 777 aircraft.

“Based on its current risk assessment, done on a daily basis, the airline is now able to take a shorter route on European flights,” the airline said in a statement.

All baggage is being shipped to affected customers in Europe, it added.

The airline suffered two disasters in 2014. In March that year, its flight MH370 carrying 239 passengers and crew disappeared while on a flight to China and is believed to have gone down in the Indian Ocean.